Ratchet wrenches



y 1968 c. A. JOLLIFF ET AL 3,393,587

BATCHET WRENCHES Filed Dec.

INVENTORS United States Patent 3,393,587 RATCHET WRENCI-IES Charles A. Jolliti, Canton, and Richard B. Wright, Akron,

Ohio, assignors to The Wright Tool and Forge Company, Barberton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Dec. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 601,913 9 Claims. (Cl. 81-632) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A ratchet wrench having a body provided with a bore accommodating a rotatable core member provided with a square, or other non-cylindrical, lug offstanding from the body and adapted to removably receive a socket member for engaging a nut, or bolt head. The bore of the body, and the core member are provided with complemental ratchet means including shiftable pawl means, which serve to adapt the wrench for either tightening or loosening movement of a nut or bolt at the will of the operator, shifting of the pawl means, and also release of the socket member, at will, being accomplished by a shaft member rotatably and axially shiftable and disposed axially of the core member and extending into the lug where it is provided with means for actuating a detent for engagement with the socket member to hold such detent in position to retain the socket member locked to the lug or to release the socket member therefrom.

Known prior art Means for releasably attaching a socket member to the lug of a ratchet wrench including a detent, a releasing shaft therefor axially movable, only, and means of conventional form including a shift lever, for adjusting the ratchet mechanism, are shown in the patent of Peter M. Roberts, dated Sept. 28, 1965, No. 3,208,318, but as above noted a separate, conventional lever, or trip member, mounted on the wrench body is employed for shifting the pawl means to accommodate the wrench to either tightening or loosening movement, whereas in the wrench of the present invention the shaft which serves to effect release of the socket member is not only axially movable to effect such release, substantially as in the Roberts wrench, but is rotatably shiftable also to effect shifting of the pawl means to accommodate the wrench to either tightening or loosening movement.

Objects of invention The primary object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a ratchet wrench combining, in a single actuating member (the shaft member) means not only for shifting actuation of the socket member engaging detent, but also means for so adjusting the pawl means of the ratchet means as to accommodate the wrench to either tightening or loosening movement, thus effecting a more compact and trouble free wrench mechanism, and also providing a ratchet wrench which is not subject to faulty operation particularly as regards the chosen adjustment of the pawl means.

Summary of invention In its preferred embodiment, the invention comprises a ratchet wrench having a body and handle, the body being provided with a bore having internally disposed ratchet teeth, a core member disposed in said bore and rotatable therein and provided with pawl means carrying ratchet teeth for engagement with the teeth of said bore whereby nut or bolt tightening or loosening rotation may be imparted to said core member upon proper actuation of said body by the handle, said core member being axially reice tained in said bore by removable retaining means, a lug offstanding axially of said core member and adapted to removably receive a socket member, said core member being provided with an axial bore extending into said lug, a radially disposed aperture in said lug communicating with said bore and embracing a detent for releasable engagement with said socket member, and a shaft rotatably and axially movable in said bore and extending into said lug, said shaft being provided with means cooperating with said detent for effecting the projection of said detent into socket member retaining position and, alternatively, its withdrawal therefrom to release said socket member, and being provided, also, with means for adjusting said pawl means for accommodating the wrench to either said tightening or loosening movement, the detent adjusting function of said shaft being accomplished by its axial movement, and its pawl means adjusting effect being accomplished by its rotative movement, resilient means reacting between said shaft and core member and serving normally to maintain said shaft in detent projecting position, and resiliently biased means extending radially of said shaft and engaging said pawl means for shifting said pawl means from one of its operative positions to the other and for resiliently biasing the ratchet teeth of said pawl means into operative engagement with the ratchet teeth of said bore of the body, said shaft, exteriorly of said core member and body, being provided with means whereby it may be depressed against the action of said resilient reacting means to thereby actuate said detent, and may be pivotally adjusted to effect adjustment of said pawl means, all as will be explained hereinafter more fully and finally claimed.

Brief description of drawings In the accompanying drawing illustrating the invention in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a Wrench embodying the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof,

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view thereof,

FIG. 4 is an axial sectional elevation taken on the line 44 of FIG. 5,

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of the core member removed from the wrench body,

FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of the actuating shaft,

FIG. 8 is a top perspective view of the pawl member of the core member,

FIG. 9 is a bottom perspective view of said pawl member, and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary top view of the core member, with the actuating shaft shown in transverse section.

FIGS. 4 to 10, inclusive, are drawn to an enlarged scale to facilitate their showing.

Detailed description In the embodiment of the invention herein particularly disclosed, and having reference especially to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, it will be seen that the wrench has a body 1 provided with an operating handle 2. The body 1 has an axial bore 3 which is provided with a continuous circular series of internal ratchet teeth 4 (FIGS. 4 and 5), and axially of this bore 3 is disposed a core member 5 the major axial extent of which is of a diameter to just clear the ratchet teeth 4 of the body, and which has an enlarged upper end portion 6 rotatively bearing in the annular wall of a counterbore in the upper portion of the 'body and seating against a shoulder 7 of the body provided by such counterbore. The core member 5 is removably held in axial relation to the body 1 by a spring retaining washer 8 seated in a circular depression 9 in the lower face of the body and in a circumferential groove 10 in the core member.

Extending outwardly, downwardly, from the core member 5 is a preferably square lug 11 with which may be engaged a socket member 12 (shown in broken lines in FIGS. 1 and 4).

The core member 5 and its lug 11 are provided with a two-diameter axial bore, the upper, larger diameter, portion 13 of which is located mainly in the core member, and the lower, smaller diameter, portion 14 of which extends into the lug, thus providing between these two portions a shoulder 15.

Substantially midway, axially of its length, the core member is formed with a laterally extending recess 16 (FIGS. 4, 5 and 6) in which pawl means 17 (FIGS. 4, 5, 8 and 9) are so pivotally mounted upon a pin 18 seated in the core member that one or the other of its two sets of ratchet teeth 19 and 20 may, optionally, be engaged with the teeth 4 of the body 1, and it will be noted that the pawl means have an arcuate camming face 21.

Within the bore 13-14 of the core member 5 and lug 11 is disposed a shaft 22 having its upper end portion of a diameter complemental to the upper portion 13 of the said bore and its lower portion of a diameter complemental to the lower portion 14 of said bore, thus providing a shoulder 23 between which and the shoulder 15 of said bore is retained a resilient member such as a compression spring 24. The upper end of the shaft 22 is provided with an operating head 25 mated with a recess 26 in the upper end of the core member 5, this head having a finger grip member 27 by which it may be pivotally adjusted, and serving also as a surface against which finger pressure may be exerted to depress the shaft against the tension of the spring 24.

In substantially transverse alignment with the pawl means 17 the shaft 22 is provided with a bore 28 in which is confined a resiliently biased plunger 29 in engagement with the arcuate camming face 21 of the pawl means 17, and it will be seen, as shown in FIG. 5, that when the shaft 22 is pivotally adjusted this plunger may be made to function so as to cause engagement of either of the sets of teeth 19 or 20 of the pawl means with the ratchet teeth 4 of the body bore 3.

The lower, reduced diameter, portion of the shaft 22 is recessed to provide a relief 30 and a foot 31 which cooperate with a ball detent 32 received in a radial aperture 33 in the lug 11 and confined against escape outwardly therefrom by a lip 34. This detent serves, when the shaft is urged to its upper position by the spring 24, as shown in FIG. 5, to engage a complemental radial aperture 35 in the wall of the socket member 12 (FIG. 4) to thus properly secure the socket member to the lug. Obviously, when the shaft 22 is axially depressed the relief 30 will be aligned with the detent and the detent can recede from its projected position to thus release the socket member. It will be noted, particularly by reference to FIG. 7, that the foot 31 merges into the relief 30 on a cam surface 36' which is preferably of cylindrical form disposed at an angle of approximately to the shaft axis, and thus, when the shaft 22 is pivotally adjusted for chosen disposition of the pawl means 17, the foot will, throughout such adjustment, present a proper camming surface for actuating contact with the detent.

As will be apparent from FIG. 4, movement of the shaft 22 outwardly of the bore of the core member 5 is preferably limited by engagement of the plunger 29 with the upper wall face of the recess 16, and a stop pin 37 carried radially by the shaft and confined within a recess 38 in the core member (FIGS. 4 and 10) will serve to limit angular adjustment of the shaft 22 to just that necessary for optional functioning of the pawl means 17 (FIGS. 4, 6 and 10).

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the ratchet wrench of the invention, as shown and described, satisfies the objects and advantages hereinbefore set forth.

Various changes and modifications are considered to be within the principle of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

What we claim is:

1. A ratchet wrench, comprising a body having a core member rotatable therein, complemental ratchet means carried by said body and core member and relatively adjustable to accommodate the wrench to optional tightening and loosening of a member to be operated upon, means carried by the core member for removable attachment of means for engaging the member to be operated upon, detent means for effecting such removable attachment, and means including an angularly and axially adjustable shaft operable to effect desired adjustment of said ratchet means and also to effect desired actuation of said detent means.

2. A ratchet wrench as defined in claim 1, in which said shaft is angularly adjustable to effect adjustment of said ratchet means and is axially adjustable to effect desired actuation of said detent means.

3. A ratchet wrench as defined in claim 2, in which said shaft and core member are provided with cooperating means for limiting angular adjustment of said shaft.

4. A ratchet wrench as defined in claim 3, in which the means for limiting angular adjustment of said shaft include a stop pin carried by said shaft and a recess in said core member complemental to said pin.

5. In a ratchet wrench of the type having a body provided with an axial bore carrying a circular series of ratchet teeth, a core member rotatable in said bore and provided with pawl means having ratchet teeth complemental to those of said bore and mounted in said core member for engagement of its teeth with those of said bore to optionally impart nut or bolt tightening or loosening rotation to said core member, a lug projecting from the lower end of said core member for the reception of a socket member and having at its lateral face a normally outwardly projecting detent member displaceable inwardly of said face to retain and release said socket member, respectively, an axial bore in said core member, a shaft housed in said bore and angularly adjustable there in, and resiliently biased means carried radially of said shaft and engaging said pawl means and serving upon angular adjustment of said shaft to adjust said pawl means so that its ratchet teeth may be resiliently engaged with the ratchet teeth of said body bore for such optional rotation of said core member, said shaft extending upwardly outwardly of said core member and provided with means for effecting its manual angular adjustment: a continuation of the bore of said core member extending into said lug and providing access to said detent member, and a continuation of said shaft extending into said bore continuation, the said continuation of said shaft being provided with a relief in its face circumference and a foot at its terminus having an angular surface merging into said relief, resilient means reacting between said shaft and core member and serving normally to bias said foot into contact with said detent member to project the same into socket member retaining position with respect to said lug, said shaft being depressible by pressure applied to its upward outward extension to compress said resilient reacting means to adjust said relief into alignment with said detent member and thereby permit release of said detent member from its socket retaining position and permit disengagement of said socket member from said lug, said shaft thereby serving the double function of optional adjustment of said pawl means and for actuation of said detent member for optional connection of said socket member with, or its. release from, said lug.

6. In a ratchet wrench as defined in claim 5, the resilient means reacting between said shaft and core member being a compression spring encircling said shaft and reacting between a shoulder on said shaft and a shoulder in said core member surrounding the bore therein at the continuation of said bore into said lug.

7. In a ratchet wrench as defined in claim 5, the upper extremity of said core member being provided with a recess complemental to and adapted to receive the upward outward extension of said shaft upon its depression.

8. In a ratchet wrench as defined in claim 5, the upward outward extension of said shaft terminating in an operating head provided with a finger grip member whereby its angular adjustment may readily be effected.

9. In a ratchet wrench as defined in claim 5, the upward outward extension of said shaft terminating in an operating head extending circumferentially thereof, and the upper extremity of said core member being provided with a recess complemental to and adapted to receive said head upon depression of said s'haft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,233,481 2/1966 Bacon 8163 3,208,318 9/1965 Roberts 81-177.6 1,864,466 6/1932 Peterson 81177.6 X 1,888,793 11/ 1932 Erickson 81-63 2,706,424 4/ 1955 Johnson 8163 2,103,556 12/1937 Rueb 81-63 2,020,883 11/1935 Gagne 81-63 X JAMES L. JONES, JR., Primary Examiner. 

